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LOUVAIN: A TRAGEDY 


PS 3535 
01713 


ROBERTS 


L7 
1917 
Copy 1 






Class / c>- s'' ci O'O 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



LOUVAIN 
A TRAGEDY 



LOUVAIN: A TRAGEDY 

IN THREE ACTS 



BY 

CHARLES V. H. ROBERTS 

AUTHOR OF "THE CALL OF SORROW," "THE 
SUBLIME SACRIFICE," ETC 



In thine adversity there is 
Not one will call thee triendl. When mortal heart 
Beats outward for the healing touch — the little 
Things for its easing never come. Sorrow 
Is an Exile, which hath no portion in the time 
And tale and scorching brain of selfishness. 

From The Call of Sorrow 



THE TORCH PRESS 
NEW YORK AND CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 

LONDON: 12-13, HENRIETTA STREET 

COVENT GARDEN, W. C. 

1917 






COPYRIGHT 1917 
CHARLES V. H. ROBERTS 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

NOVEMBER 



),j 



/H 



m -3 1317 



THE WILLIAM HARVEY MINER COMPANY. INC. 
SAINT LOUIS ■- LONDON 



©CLA477G09 
1. 



To My Mother 



Foreword 

An historical drama founded upon facts 
largely existing at the present day. 



DRAMATIS PERSONAE 

The King of the Belgians 

The Queen of the Belgians 

The German Minister to Belgium 

The Cardinal, Archbishop of Malines 

Countess Therese de Murier 

A Member of the Brussels Aristocracy 

Marie Louise Her only Daughter 

Monsieur Gaston Lafere. . .A Nobleman of Louvain 

Madame Lafere His Wife 

Eugenie. .Their Daughter and Cousin^of Marie Louise 
Captain Jean St. Vallien..^ young Belgian Officer 
Count Pierre de Bombel 

An old Friend of the de Murier s 
Baron Anton Orerhaus 

Connected with the German Secret Service in Brussels 



Guests, Uhlans, Orderlies, Royal Guards, Sena- 
tors, Counsellors, Soldiers, Aides, Lackeys, 
Servants, etc., etc. 



ACT I 



ACT I 

Time — End of July, 1914. 

Place — Brussels, Belgium. 
Evening. 

Scene : 

In the handsome apartment suite of the Countess 
de Mur'ter on the Boulevard de Waterloo. The 
near end of an evening's entertainment. Servants 
hand about refreshments. Groups of guests — 
some are standings others sitting on chairs and 
lounges. A great many vases filled with flowers. 
Furnishings and hangings belong to the style of 
the Renaissance. At the rise of the curtain Marie 
Louise is seen at the piano. The Count de Bombel 
and the young officer, St. Vallien, and Baron Ober- 
haus are standing near her obviously engrossed in 
her playing. 

Bombel {striking one of the basso keys of the 
piano). 

Bravo! I'll take the base or despite my 

years 
Be pantomiming on my toes. Loud 
pedal! 



12 Louvain 

One! Two! In age there's always 
genius. 

[sighing] 
Though we are senseless fools at best. 

Marie Louise (smiling). 

Don't 
Be silly! 

St. V. 

Play, please, an aria of Puccini's 
His notes are golden harp-strings in 
themselves. 

BOMBEL. 

Sad songs — soft recorders! Ah, bah! 
May Cupid stop my breath — I hate that 

kind 
Of music — something rhythmic, comic, 

less 
Sublime! 

Marie Louise. 

We are not all soulless! 
Bombel. 

Tut, tut! You're jesting. 
[Marie Louise plays Rudolf's Roman- 
za from La Boheme] 
Dream appearing mournful melody! 



Louvain 13 

Oberhaus. 

At least to me it seems so. Pardon — 

'Mid these sweetmeats, beauties, and per- 
fumes. 
[To htmselfl 

More like tavern counsels staged by im- 
beciles. 

Dream, laugh, go lightly — but what's 
coming? 
[Aloud] 

Ach! Mademoiselle, your touch is royal. 
[To himself again] 

Peace makes one grim, and horny about 
the knees. 

These walls shall be blazoned with the 
shapes of power; 

Yon vases wait, but for the torch of fire. 

St. V. 

Music calms the agitation of one's soul; 
Alike on laughing as in breaking hearts. 

BOMBEL {walking over towards the COUNT- 
ESS ). 

My dear Therese, poor Frangois would 

be proud 
Of her. 



14 Louvain 

Countess. 

Pierre, I'm nervous. 

BOMBEL. 

Why, Madame? 

Countess. 

I fear the crime at Serajevo. 

Bombel. 

Does 
A martyr always start a new religion? 

Countess. 

Yes — yes — a critical hour is on the 
world! 

Bombel. 

Nonsense! Nonsense! Shall I bray as 

a mule 
Because a Hapsburg plays the ass? 

Countess. 

We are standing in a crypt of history. 

Bombel. 

Blest be the Fates that gave me sense! 
No wars, Therese, will come within our 
days ; 



Louvain 15 

Cash is trump and crops pay the winner. 

[Addressing the Baron] 
Isn't it so, my dear Baron? 

ObERHAUS (thoughtfully). 

Life is a strange menagerie; 

Nothing but feasting in its present cages. 

Therefore, my friends, less chance of war, 

methinks, 
Than Beelzebub would pray or cross 

himself. 

BOMBEL. 

Right! I agree. > 

Oberhaus. 

That's philosophy. 
Wilhelm, George, and Nicholas, next 

month, 
Will be playing billiards in Marienbad. 

Countess (half contemptuously). 
Do you think so? 

Oberhaus. 

I am sure of it. Countess. 

[Oberhaus takes his leave, also the 
other guests^^ 



1 6 Louvain 

Countess {turning off a few of the electric 
lights). 

Pierre, I've lived past sixty-seven years; 
I do not trust that man — like all the 

Boche 
He means no good in Brussels. 

BOMBEL. 

Ridiculous! 
They are swine — but v^hat have we to 

fear? 
Pshaw! War is farthest from all minds. 

Countess {rising nervously) 

Events are bound and huge dominions 

hang 
Teeming for some chaos that's to be. 

BOMBEL {rubbing his hands). 

Whims — sky-shimmer dreams! 

On form and feature Arbitration's writ; 

Large armies soon will be an ancient 
folly. 

You're terrorized by every pratting pa- 
per. 

Shells cannot rumble if banks store the 
powder. 

Madame, you forget — 



Louvain 17 

[Enter EuGENIE] 
Eugenie {interrupting BOMBEL while the 
Countess heeds the occasion to retire). 

How many war 
Scares have you conjured up? Why vex 

the Saints 
By argument? 

BOMBEL. 

War is impossible. 

Marie Louise (seriously). 

Born in sunlight and in noble air, 
My mother never speaks unreasonably. 

St. V. 

A huge concern is formed across the 
Rhine. 

Eugenie. 

Yes, I think the Baron's double-faced 

and sly. 
And that he fawns upon our hospitality. 

Marie Louise. 

There are evil rumours — 

BOMBEL. 

Those chirps are in the twitter of the 
press; 



i8 



lOuvatn 



Editors mating with affairs of state; 
Vice has at least the shame to hide itself. 
O, sighs and cries and litanies, 
How our press does feel that virtue's in 

its debt 
When it doth brand the vicious into light; 
Parchment writ for that especial grace 
And flung as a bone to curs for education ; 
Prattlings aureoled into a smear of ink, 
Under carnage, lechery, theft, and gold. 
A sou for it! 
Who needs must read what the devil 

prints, 
Half-smothered in a pulp of mud and 

dirt? 
Chimney-sweepers' love and scandals 

blacker. 
And strange to say — pray read you no 

more — 
Divorce and courtesans are sanctified. 
Clad in the raiment of a thousand stars. 
To swell the Treasury of the Sacred 

Press. 
A sou for it! 
St. V. 

Keep calm, Bombel, keep calm! 



Louvain 19 

BOMBEL. 

O'er three score years o' living, sir, 
A man hath a right to his expression. 

St. V. 

He who reasons, compromises. 

Marie Louise. 

Such similes. 

Eugenie. 

Come, let us talk about my party. Mother 
Expects us surely Thursday. In our gar- 
den 
You will see — 

BOMBEL. 

Moon flowers? 

Eugenie (laughing). 

Yes, Bombel — you may pluck them for 

us every 
Evening. 

Bombel (inquisitively). 
Wines? 

Eugenie. 

Wines, and the very best, 
The best — 



20 Loiivain 

BOMBEL. 

Ha! Ha! Well! Love wines — 
Men have their senses sometimes; love 

women — 
Never are we sane! 

Eugenie {to St. Vallien). 

You, Jean, of course, will come? 

St. V. 

Thanks — unless some unexpected orders 
intervene. 

Eugenie. 

Louvain never looked more beautiful, 

As from our villa's hillside, yester morn. 

The Belgian vale lay wrapped in day- 
dawn's rose, 

Frail clouds were dimmed of stars, and 
hung fleece-white 

As vineyards glisted of gems, and sweet 
airs stirred 

The deep-grown fields. Rocks and 
spires — 

BOMBEL. 

Lotus-lanterns and candle-lights — a lov- 
er's nest! 



Louvain 21 

No nibbling rats at gala-feasts — Eugenie. 
Your pardon! I should tune my speech. 
Dull wits and my gray hairs would spoil 

it all. 
Insist? Well — I'll be there, if but an 

effigy 

That stands and stares — good-night! 
good-night! 

[Ex//] 

Eugenie {ni^ith an air of satisfaction) . 
I return to Louvain in the morning. 
Bon nuit, Jean! Marie — aurevoir! 

[Exit through door on the leftl^ 

St. v. 

Mademoiselle, may I remain a moment 

longer? 
Then I would follow^ Oberhaus — because 
I know he holds a secret meeting. 

Marie Louise {sitting on a lounge). 

How do you feel — this war cloud, Jean 

— I'm puzzled 
And fear a thousand things that have no 

name? 



22 Louvain 

St. V. (seating himself beside her). 

I care not — think less of deeper glooms 

tonight; 
There are times for laughing, play, and 
times for war. 

Marie Louise. 

You are almost rude! 

St. V. (tenderly), 

Marie, beloved! 

Marie Louise (with feigned surprise). 

Oh! never have you spoken thus before! 

St. V. 

For days IVe sat and thought and could 

not speak. 
In words of mortal sweetness unexpress- 
ed. 

[Taking her hand in his^ 

I love you — not to say it, would make 

Nature 
Less divine — though something surely 

would 
Reveal it. Your arms are wreathed 

about my neck 



Louvain 23 

In every deed, 'mid whispered tales and 

silvered 
Links in dreams. 

IPVith one hand on MARIE LoUISE'S 
cheek he compels her to lift up her 
face'] 

You are the sea-mist and 
The fire of stars. I love you — love you — 

with 
Those words must you have further 

pleading? 
Your eyes, your lips, your hands, your 

hair, are like 
The coiled sweetness of a summer's night 
That throbs and shades in Heaven 'til 

it falls. 

Marie Louise. 

'Tis easy to enjoy but hard to love. 
Is it true you love me? 

St. V. {with intensity). 

Doubt all else but that. 
What do you fear? 

Marie Louise. 

I do not know — I love you! 



24 



Lo 



uvain 



Yet tremble with strange charms, strange 
thoughts, strange hopes. 

St. V. {kissing her passionately) . 

'Tis the pale reflection of our happiness. 
Severing the clouds of future heritages. 

[Drawing a ring from his ivaist-coat pocket^ 

You will be my wife? 

Marie Louise {looking curiously at the 

ring). 

And that you dared assume? 

St. V. 

'Tis proof of love — such confidence! 

Marie Louise {teasingly). 

Self-confidence! 

St. V. {placing the betrothal ring on her fin- 
ger) . 

With this ring, dear love, our souls are 

circled 
In one flame — that band of faith which 

knots 
Us unto death — fixed there 
Amid the heavens as predestined. 
I'd cast a kingdom on the seas tonight 



Louvain 25 

And live in you — in fires and pangs of 
joy. 

Marie Louise. 

I'm touched by that I never touched be- 
fore; 
I feel unfathomed deeps I did not know. 

St. V. 

A star doth guide us from the far off 
skies. 

Marie Louise. 

My life, my all — in these dear hands, I 
place. 

St. V. 

Such moments go like laughing sands of 
gold — 

Marie Louise (dreamily). 

From some dim farther shore, we tread 
and knew. 

St. V. 

Mind feeds on mind — the essence of past 

lives 
In skies of silver webs and soft sweet 

scents. 
The moonlit nights of Babylon dynasty. 



26 Lo 



uvain 



Marie Louise. 

Whispered gently as now I — "Love! 
Love!" 

St. V. 

Perhaps you were a queen ; I do not know. 

Marie Louise. 

My lips had blessed you e'er I knew you 
here. 

St. V. 

In sweet compression — silent counter- 
sign. 

Marie Louise. 

And if then, exiled in the isles of Death, 

Life came gladly back into my veins. 
[^Passionately^ 

Kiss me again — again and yet again! 

O Love, my love, my love, my first and 
best 

And dearest — with such predestined cer- 
tainty 

Dost thou o'erwhelm the human soul. 

St. V. 

There is no greater use of things than 
loving them; 



Louvain 27 

In flowers of gladness or in seeds of grief, 
All else wanes ofif and comes to nothing- 
ness. 
Through all the sophistries of crafty 

mind, 
Mould our shallow pleading as we may, 
By laws that are themselves the breach 

of law, 
The lowliest thing is sanctified by Love, 

Marie Louise {tenderly). 

And sheddeth incense over Destiny. 

St. V. 

Oft the touchstone of true love is sorrow; 

Marie Louise. 

The sands of Life seem firm and strong 
And spell their sweetness over land and 
sea. 

St. V. 

By apprehensions closer are we clasped. 

Marie Louise (passionately). 

Look deep, ah deep, look deep into my 

eyes! 
I have no words: what of that? 
Breathes a greater love than silent love. 



28 Lo 



uvain 



To feel thought waiting full of happy 
things? 

St. V. 

Surely you tread where the angels tread, 
And hear the echoes in God's sacred aisle. 

Marie Louise {passionately). 

Forget — forget — all — all — Jean, I love 
you ! 

CURTAIN 



ACT II 

Scene i 



ACT II 

A week later. Place — Brussels, Belgium 
Evening. 

Scene i : 

A simple ante-room adjoining the Assembly Hall, 
or Chamber of Deputies, in the Palais de La Na- 
tion. The din of voices is heard from the Hall 
where the members of the Assembly and Deputies 
are feverishly awaiting the arrival of the King and 
Queen. 

Enter the royal couple, the King in his service uni- 
form, the Queen in evening dress, passing on their 
way to preside over the Assembly. 

The King. 

You know all? 

The Queen. 

I guess, not knowing. Tell me. 

The King. 

Honour has fallen from its heights and 

Time 
Turned atheist. 



32 Louvain 

The Queen. 

Meanwhile, what will we do? 
Not understanding everything, I fear. 

The King. 

'Tis all a cheat the world is civilized, 
A dead star that in gloom grows less and 
less. 

The Queen: 

Do I not know it! I myself! 

The King. 

It is as if my own sense mocked me. Our 
Neutrality is sacred to the world. 
In all scanning of prophetic heavens, 
No star showed us this — this treachery. 
It will blister history's page to write it 
down. 

The Queen. 

William thinks himself a God and dreams 

strange dreams, 
Unto a ladder whose topmost rung is 

Heaven. 

The King. 

Such progeny! Can a pack of Hohen- 
zollerns sway the earth, 



Louvain 33 

Have power to kindle it and calm at will? 

[Shaking his head] 

A wave in modern times of such ambition 
Would break into the foam of foolish- 
ness. 
It is our soul — it is our name that we 
are free. 

The Queen. 

The ultimatum is outrageous, 

And its grim phrasers part of secret 

shame, 
Whose arguments and pleas denmand their 

due. 
We hold the nation's future in our hands; 
'Mid cold deceit and low ambition's 

slime, 
There lies defense that turns all war to 

virtue. 

The King {smiling at her proudly). 

I thought you did not understand, my 
dear. 

The Queen. 

No, no, I see it all as if accomplished, 
And breathe in courage as I lean on you. 



34 Lo 



uvain 



Who has not suffered by this perfidy? 
If we resist not evil, evil wins. 
Ere long the Prussian monarchy will be 
The source of infinite calamity, 
Not alone unto itself — but to the world! 
Come — come, my lord, they are awaiting 
us. 

CURTAIN 



ACT II 

Scene 2 



ACT II 

A few moments later. 
Scene 2 : 

In the "Hall of the Chamber^ of the Palais de La 
Nation. In the foreground slightly to the left are 
tiers where members of the Belgian Assembly, the 
Drafting Committee from the Foreign Office, and 
many deputies are seated. Some are talking earnest- 
ly, others writing, while a few men walk about in si^- 
lence, touched by the solemnity of the occasion. In 
the background near the center of the stage rises the 
throne. There are vessels of porcelain and gold and 
other candelabra. On the walls hang rich frames 
surmounted by coronets. Between the various por- 
traits are panoplies of armour and tapestries depict- 
ing episodes of the different centuries. A large 
door is prominent on the right. 

[The President of the Assembly arises 
and bids the rest to follow^ 

The President. 

His Majesty, the King! Her Majesty, 
the Queen! 

[Enter the KiNG and QUEEN accom- 



38 Lo 



uvam 



panied by royal guards. They are 
greeted with thundering applause 
and wild enthusiasm. The royal pair 
asceend the throne, holding their 
heads high with looks of firm deter- 
mination in their faces. 
A profound silence falls over the spec- 
tators'] 

The King {rising and addressing the Assem- 
bly). 

In the name of the Nation, I greet you 
here as brethren, and in all things now 
or yet to come, to be guided by your 
wisdom. We are Belgians, proud of 
our free institutions and moral con- 
quests. One single vision fills our 
minds — Belgium's threatened inde- 
pendence, which Heaven bids us cher- 
ish; steady courage — union among us 
all. We hope the events which threat- 
en us will not happen. But if the hope 
be vain — our valiant youth has risen; 
not one in this Nation will fail in his 
duty. Julius Caesar said: ^The Bel- 
gians are the bravest people of all 



Louvain 39 

Gaul." That is a goodly thing to 
think upon! The muffled tread of 
many hundred years follows the path 
of our fathers, washed red with the 
noblest blood of history. Ours is the 
privilege of sacrifice! Can we ask of 
Life a greater boon than that? In 
Flanders, in Wallonia, in our cities, 
towns, and country sides, one thought 
alone impels our hearts — our patri- 
otism! This the heaviest blows of Hell 
cannot defile. We are armed ready for 
the greatest sacrifices. If we fight, w^e 
fight to keep our country^free, or else 
to war forevermore to help an empire 
bind the world as we are bound. Bel- 
gians arise — be worthy of yourselves, 
be confident in the justice of your cause. 

[^JVild and tumultuous applause^ 

{Enter a ROYAL GuARD] 

The Guard. 

The German Minister, your Majesty. 

[yf solemn hush falls over the Assembly^ 



40 Louvain 

The King {in a clear voice). 

He is expected — bid him enter. 

[Exit Guard] 

[Enter GERMAN MINISTER, bowing before 
the Assembly and saluting the KING and 

Queen] 

The King. 

Each moment works to some new crisis; 
what now, Sir? 

German Minister. 

Your Majesty — your answer — 'tis the 

hour. 
For unmolested passage we will pay 
A big indemnity. We are the stronger 
And uphold the better cause. But, sire, 
It is with mortal grief we so demand. 

The King {smiling). 

I know that well, but cannot credit it. 

The Queen. 

Is it a mad man's vision that you ask? 
Do you think our minds and hearts are 

turned to dust, 
That we let our souls stand naked to the 

world. 



Louvain 41 

Pierced by such poisoned promises? 

\^Applause'] 

German Minister {looking curiously to- 
wards the King). 

I do not understand all this, your Maj- 
esty. 

Voices from the Assembly. 

We do — we do — to arms! To arms! 

The Queen. 

Your great ideals, your radiant living 

treaties! 
Are they to turn to scars jn deadened 

stripes, 
And mock the draughts of Fate? I'm 

half ashamed! [Applause] 

German Minister. 

Dull and drear and ^^scraps of paper" 

now! 
The French would place you in far great- 
er jeopardy. [Hisses] 
[To the Queen again with some emo- 
tion'] 
Do you not plead against this war. 
Counsel surrender, in our necessity? 



42 Louvain 

The Queen. 

William is surely mad. 

The King. 

A gracious scheme, 
That would entice with crafty, crooked 
words. 

German Minister {indignantly) . 

Not at all! What is your answer? 
Necessity — that only holds the day. 

Voices in the Assembly. 

Rifles! Rifles! To the frontier! To the 
frontier! 

The King (angrily). 

Dare you thus address a Belgian King 
And so presume on our high dignity? 

The Queen. 

To make us traitors for your strategy? 

The King (rising and addressing the MINIS- 
TER in tones of mingled dignity and defi- 
ance). 

Hear my answer, and let it echo from 
The walls of Potsdam to the farthest vales 
Of Eastern Prussia. What you see in this 



Louvain 43 

Assembly is one party firmly linked 
With the people — sustained by them to 

maintain 
The sacred heritage of their fathers. 
The area of this little state is small — 
But should that bear its souls into an alien 

world, 
There to grasp around 'mid grinning 

bones. 
Death shall be our master, not dishonour. 

[^Tumultuous applause'] 

No one in this Chamber is offended? 

A foreigner's foot on Belgium's precious 
soil. 

We resist it! We fight it! Man for man, 
gun 

For gun! Fort by fort! Town by town! 
Aye, 

Street by street, o'er sites and plains un- 
born. 

A nation answers you — not a king! 

Is there anyone here offended? No! 

[Pointing his finger angrily at the 

Minister] 
What has been offended — What! What! 



44 Louvain 

Honour is offended, Justice is 
Offended, Truth is offended — the World 

is offended. 
The blood of such offended shall not be 

shed 
Save to congeal in the clots and stench of 

Prussian 
Perfidy. 'Tis a crime too big for Satan's 

eye, 
Whose devilish vision would recoil within 
Itself, blinded by the very terror of it. 
An empire built on blood and iron will 

fall. 
Wrong is its own destroyer. Its end 
Is in itself and by itself. That is 
A balance in the scales of Time which I 
Would suggest your state weigh well. 
We have faith in our destiny — power in 

our honour. 
A nation defending itself is respected by 

all; 
That nation will not perish. 
The Queen. 

Say it again — say it again! God lends 
Some moments out of Heaven — this is 
one! [Wild applause'] 



Louvatn 45 

German Minister. 

Your answer doth provoke the rage of 

war, 
A wilder madness than I ever dreamed. 

The King. 

It is for my army to decide on that. 

Voices from the Assembly. 

It will — it will — to the frontier — to 
Liege! 

German Minister {to the Queen). 
Must I convey this? 

The Queen. 

So please you, Sir! 

[Exit German Minister followed by 
Guard] 

The King. 

Spread my answer on the record. We 
Adjourn. Complete mobilization is or- 
dered. 
I go to the front immediately. 

CURTAIN 



ACT II 

Scene 3 



ACT II 

Near dawn the next morning. 

Place — Brussels, Belgium. 

Scene 3 : 

The Queen s private boudoir in the Royal Palace, 
The room is dark save for the subdued light re- 
flecting fro?7i a table-lamp, and shaded brackets on 
either side of a mantel piece. A window is in 
the background. The furnishings are in old Flem- 
ish style. 

As the curtain rises the King is seen in full military 
uniform pacing back and forth. The Queen sits on 
a lounge attired in negligee. 

The King. 

Yesterday and to-day, God is the same, 
Yet His world seems damned more ut- 
terly. 

The Queen. 

What will be must be, that is inevitable; 
But He will send angels down, I'm sure 
of it. 

The King {pausing near the mantel). 

Alas, the load of life that lives for kings, 



50 Louvain 

Under whose torments inwardly we 

groan! 
Is there no peace within this high estate, 
Whose acts are but the choice of circum- 
stance? 
O, world, where is thy honour? What 

shall I say — 
In saying, turn back the arithmetic of 

Fate? 
Damned errors, power — praise! Judg- 
ment swerves 
Aside and counterfeits its own decree; 
Akin is conscience then in insurrection. 
And breaketh the ranks of reason's ordi- 
nance. 
Dignity of kings with puppet words, 
Gaudy veils and trappings of command 
Turned reversely into shrouded worms — 
No! No! Had I not eyes to see dis- 
honour. 
Which on their retina did not let me err? 
By heaven, 'tis a deed as black as Hell! 
Little Belgium — perhaps it were a pity — 
The stars and moon do veil their beams 
in sorrow; 



Louvain 51 

[To the Queen] 

But — but — what else, what else could I 

decree? 
There's ease in chains, when anguish in a 

crown. 
Many the fools, that sit on thrones in 

slavish parts 
Playing a dicer's game — diplomacy 
Loaded on the throws from mightier 

arms, 
That bullies Justice from the table. So! 
Treaties! How quickly pales the ink 

there writ, 
When greedy Conquest holds the blotter. 
Such as I am a king — no lesser man! 
Strange, is it not? 

Never a smooth sword, but there's mur- 
der in it 
Infected by its gleaming heritage. 
Conclusions by results are falsified. 
And prowl around us with a reeking 

blade. 
Necessity — indemnity — invasion ! 
I'll not mix with such usurers of the 

mind, 



52 Louvain 

Who would keep cash going while honour 

starves in rags. 
Is this a baby-fist — rattles? No! 
There are true men not yet among the 

stars 
Condemning treason to a robber's grave! 
We must not fall! 'Tis war, then — war! 

Not for 
France nor England — but for Belgium's 

word. 

The Queen [rushing up and passionately 

throwing her arms about her husband). 

Hold me, kiss me, hide me in your love! 

Keep and defend as ours this holy cause, 

Which God assigns to us by highest right. 

The King [looking out of the window). 
It is a gloomy day that breaketh, dear, 
Yet it showeth signs of being a brilliant 
day. 

CURTAIN 



ACT III 

Scene i 



ACT III 

Time — August, 1914. 

Evening. PLACE — Louvain, Belgium. 

Scene i : 

At the villa of Monsieur Gaston Lajere, picturesque- 
ly situated on a hill above the city. The foreground 
presents part of a spacious and handsomely decorated 
living-room, while through open casement windows 
and large French doors is seen a garden full of 
oleanders, roses, and an abundance of white blossoms. 
A fountain slightly to the right plashes gently, and 
through the spray is glimpsed an arbor covered with 
vines. Monsieur and Madame Lafere, Eugenie, and 
Marie Louise are seated at table in the garden evi- 
dently just finishing dinner. 

Lafere {rising from the table and pacing in 
and out of the room) . 

Why, Belgium — a nation — seven mil- 
lion souls, 
Dazzling and proud since the days of 

Julius Casear! 
ril trust our king to hold the dastards 
back 



56 Louvain 

By bloody checking of these wanton 
wrongs, 

Until the French arrive to then complete 
a rout! 
[Pounding his fist on the table~\ 

That is my guess and I'll vouch the mat- 
ter true! 

Mme. L. (bitterly). 

Be kind to me! Another day like this 
My hair becomes whiter than the snow! 
[Passing through the living-room to a 
door on the left^ 
These hordes — these hordes against us 

ten to one, 
I cannot — cannot share such confidence! 

[Exit] 
Marie Louise (seriously). 

How little we know of our country's 

peril, 
Grace in all her steps — but, oh, so small! 
I feel a fear not easy to divine. 

Eugenie (tenderly pressing her cousins 
hand) . 

Sweetest one! 'Tis Jean, you think of 
with 



Louvain 57 

The king — your love must brave the 

hour's pain; 
I wish I were a man! Equal and like 
And yet why — less in war? Our flesh 

should fight 
With flesh, and soul with soul, to stand or 

fall; 

[Pushing herself and chair back from 
the table~\ 

Instead these graceful acts and thousand 
decencies! 

Marie Louise (with a slight smile). 
Our party had a sudden endin-g! 

Eugenie. 

Aye, 
And even Bombel has become all serious. 

Lafere [lighting a cigar). 

The rascal said he would return at nine. 
At any rate he's now convinced of war; 
But turns his wit to make its pangs the 
less. 

Marie Louise {murmuring to herself and 
strolling over to the fountain) , 

I am and ever shall be — but a woman, 



58 Louvain 

Onward to journey with far changeless 
Time, 

That ever sits upon the throne of Mem- 
ory. 

The ages pass and we go down to death 

In lamentations on unheeding air. 

This eve may lay some plight upon the 
world. 

\^Plucking a rose and pressing it to her 
lips] 

O rose, you moonbeams and you silvered 

spray, 
Bended, swaying soft in cooling night. 
How little you do know of human woe; 
Unwitting sentinels 'neath sorrow's 

shades. 
There while to whisper, sob, and drip 

with tears. 

[Passionately^ 

Him I love is all my own! Oh, Love! 

You make us rich and yet you make us 
poor. 

Wherein the bitter sweet of your dilem- 
ma! 



Louvain 59 

You take your sorrows from the touch of 

Time, 
But bear your joys into Eternity! 

Eugenie (c<3///w^ Marie Louise). 
Marie! 

Marie Louise {returning to the table). 
Yes, Eugenie! 
[The door bell rings, followed by im- 
patient knocking. LAFERE and MARIE 
Louise enter the room, while EU- 
GENIE hurriedly opens the door. En- 
ter BOMBEL wildly. He throws his 
hat and coat covered wifh dust on a 
nearby chair'] 

Eugenie. 

What news? 

{Enter MmE. LafERE] 

Mme. L. 

Quickly, tell us! 

Marie Louise. 

Speak! 

BOMBEL. 

Terrible — terrible! Liege, Liege has 
fallen! 



6o Louvain 

LafERE (trying to be calm). 

Bah, rumors! It is impregnable! 

Mme. L. 

My God! 

Marie Louise. 

Jean, my beloved! 

BOMBEL {pacing up and down). 

Rumors! I wish it were! 
Such artillery the world has never 
Known. Our forts were powdered down 

like so much 
Sugar. Now troops come swifter than 
the wire. 

Lafere. 

What — what do you mean? 

BOMBEL. 

I say. 
Glowering in hordes adown the roads 
The Huns are already at our gates; 
Two mounted Uhlans gave chase behind 

my car. 
And may be now upon us any moment. 
\^The roaring of distant artillery is 
heard across the valley'] 



Louvain 6i 

Lafere. 

Come — make an end of this excitement! 

[^Sudden clattering of horses' hoofs up 
the roadway^ 

Eugenie. 

What's that? 

Bombel. 

Uhlans! 

Mme. Lafere {clasping the girls). 

Children! Children! 

[Violent pounding on the door~\ 

Lafere {trying to calm them). 

Between us here — the law of reason 
rules. 

[Walking towards the door'l 

Stand back! I'll let them in. Soldiers 
Are but men — and can be gentlemen 
withal. 

[He opens the door. Enter two Uh- 
lans while an officer is seen outside 
talking rapidly with a dozen or more 
men still unmounted^ 



62 Louvatn 

1ST Uhlan [roughly). 
Who lives here? 

Lafere. 

I — Gaston Lafere! 

2ND Uhlan [evidently reco gnizing BoMBEL) , 

Old speeder, 
'Twas a chase we had, but here we are! 
Give us a drink, host — God save the 
Kaiser! 

Eugenie [flushing and attempting to break 
away from her mother). 

Men without the manners of their brutes! 

2ND Uhlan [with rough sarcasm). 
Long live Peace! Ha! Ha! Ha! 
Beauties — drinks and kisses here! 

\_Enter an oflicer who is immediately 
recognized as BaroN ObeRHAUS] 

ObERHAUS [rebuking the Uhlan). 

Silence! Fear not, my friends, but from 

your faces 
We do not receive it seems the warmest 

welcome. 
I ask your pardon, but certain things — 



Louvain 63 

BOMBEL {interrupting him) . 

You! Oberhaus! Are you now drafted 

into 
Treason's ranks to consort in this hell's 

abyss? 

Oberhaus. 

Dear fellow — God's altar is in Prussia's 

heart, 
Your king played false with generosity. 

Eugenie {angrily). 

I knew he was a traitor — said 
It from the first. 

Oberhaus {grinning). 

I am a Prussian — lady. 

Eugenie. 

Yes — the dark in soul see but the shadow 
Of themselves. 

Oberhaus {to Lafere). 

We shall have to make our 
quarters here 
Tonight. 

BOMBEL {growling to himself). 

Noodle-skull — soap bubble brains! 



64 Louvatn 

[Aloud sarcasttcallyl 
Life is a strange menagerie, eh? 
Beelzebub has prayed and crossed him- 
self. 

OberHAUS (becoming angry) . 

Old man — no mockery or witticisms 
Here. We come — it's God's concern, 
not yours! 

[Addressing his men'] 
Search the house! 

LAFERE. 

Dare you, sir? 

BOMBEL [with another growl) . 
Spindle shanks in uniform! 

ObERHAUS {to his Uhlans), 

Enchain that man — this war is business! 

Eugenie {angrily). 

In business one can be a gentleman. 

ObeRHAUS {ignoring her). 

Take him to Louvain. Bread and water 

soon 
Methinks will reduce that pouch of wit. 
[The room is now filled with soldiers 



Louvain 65 

who are ruthlessly searching and 
throwing everything into disorder, 
LafERE and BOMBEL glower in help- 
less anger f while the women, espe- 
cially Marie Louise, stand, as it 
were, transfixed. OberhAUS makes 
no attempt to check the outrage^ 

Mme. Lafere {with desperate but dignified 
appeal) . 

Sir — have you so flung your faculties to 

beasts 
That you do thus deface a home that in 
The past extended open hospitality? 

ObERHAUS {coldly). 

Blame your puppet king, Madame, not 
me! 

[^The Uhlans having already given their 
leader several drinks, he approaches 
with a slight stagger toward MARIE 

Louise] 

Sweet lady, my eyes are filled with star- 
dust; 
I hear the melody from La Boheme. 

[^Imitating MARIE LOUISE at the piano'] 



66 Lo 



uvatn 



Pianissimo! Both hands! Sweet equity! 
Warm as dipped in summer's high keyed 

air! 
Rudolf! Mimi! Fortissimo! 
Pause and count the heart-beats of the 

scene. 

BOMBEL {trying to free himself). 

Oil-torigued brute! Hands off that girl! 

\_Sudden commotion in the garden. ST. 
VallIEN staggers through the door, 
in his shirt sleeves. He is deadly 
pale and the blood runs from a 
wound in his left shoulder^ 

Marie Louise {rushing madly up to her 
lover) . 
Jean, Jean — you here? Oh, true dream! 
Your eyes — your lips — alive — I hear 

your heart! 
Men, have pity — this is the man I love! 
I felt in exile but I am home — now. 

St. V. {as Marie Louise presses her arms 
tightly about his neck). 
Beloved . . . Marie! 



Louvain 67 

OBERHAUS {walking roughly up to where 
they are standing). 

Dare a Belgian soldier enter here, 
How in Hell did you get through our 
lines? 

St. V. [recognizing him). 

You freeze me, Baron — but that's my 

secret, sir; 
Now you become a man and leave this 

house! 

Oberhaus. 

Bull puppy this, and wounded too! 

[To Marie Louise] 

My compliments — your lover's surely 
game ! 

[Calling two Uhlans^ 

But now to business — take him out and 
shoot him. 

St. V. (sarcastically). 

That's true valour, sir! And I salute. 

Marie Louise (kneeling). 

Oh, Saviour! Sacred Heart of Jesus, 
Thou, Who suffered, knowest pity well, 



68 Louvain 

Why — why — why hast Thou forsaken 

us? 
\_Rising and addressing ObeRHAUS] 

What act — what sin — that's fair in war, 
Can give excuse for such — such deeds as 
these? 

OBERHAUS. 

Battles with Beauty must take a different 

course; 
War's for better use than argument. 

Marie Louise. 

They shall go down and make the black- 
est and 
Most infamous stain upon the page of 

human 
History! 

Oberhaus. 

Bah! Bah! Bah! 
'Tis woman gilds the earth with senti- 
ment; 
First I'm Prussian, next I'm not your 
king. 

BoMBEL (Hissingly). 
Carbuncle eyes! 



Louvain 69 

ObeRHAUS {to his men). 

Muzzle that buffoon! 

[The Baron is now seen to slyly draw 
a revolver and fire a shot to deliber- 
ately wound one of his own men. 
The soldier staggers and falls to the 
floor] 

[Roaringly] 

Treason! Murder! Hounds — assassins 

here! 
Men! I command that order rule; this — 
This comes of being merciful! 

[The wounded German soldier is as- 
sisted into a chair] 

Marie Louise {glaring at Oberhaus). 

Does it not shame you to be called a man? 

[The Uhlans seize LaFERE, whom, with 
BOMBEL, they drag into the garden. 

Madame Lafere and Eugenie rush 

desperately after them. EUGENIE is 
seen frantically beating one of the 
men with her fists as they pass 
through the French doors] 



70 Louvain 

Oberhaus {to Marie Louise). 

You'll clasp a ghost where throbbed a liv- 
ing love! 

\^The Baron now struts back and forth, 
chuckling to hi?iise/f, then nods to 
Uhlans to release St. Vallien] 

[Looking toward St. VALLIEN] 

Now, to balance your account, my fellow! 

[To Marie Louise~\ 

Don't eat me up! Ha! So proud! 
Stand forth — and see your sweetheart's 
anger blaze! 

[He approaches Marie Louise. At 
this moment EUGENIE rushes back in- 
to the room, her hair all dishevelled^^ 

Eugenie {wildly). 

They've killed — murdered — father and 

Bombel! 
Oh, send me strength, my veins — not 

tears, but strength! 
Destiny, destiny, take in thy hand some 

dust. 
Compounded of some secret grains 'to 

make me. 



Louvain 71 

E'en for a little while — a man. 

[To Oberhaus] 
You writing coward — 

[An Uhlan seizes her and drags her 
back into the garden^ 

Oberhaus {with cold indifference, glaring at 
St. VallieN, and at the same time address- 
ing Marie Louise with a rising, brutal pas- 
sion in his voice) . 

Pouting lips and flashing eyes, 

'Tis you that gives a soul to every star. 

St. V. {gnashing his teeth with anger and tak- 
ing a step towards the Prussian) . 
Be careful what you say, you Hun! 

Oberhaus. 

Hold him! 
[The Uhlans again lay hold of St. V.] 

Marie Louise {looking pitifully towards her 
lover) , 

How can we pray these wrongs away? 
Oh! God, if there be justice — answer me! 

Oberhaus (i^yzVA diabolical passion). 

We know, my sweet, more love across the 
Rhine 



72 Louvain 

Than all the sages and divines who study 

Moon and Scripture. Look not down! 

Come — come — lift up your eyes — be 
not afraid! 

Ah! panting breasts — the crimson of 
your mouth! 

Talk of odors, talk of wines, 'tis all 

A cloud, 'tis all a dream, but love — love! 

O, do not wound me with that dagger 
look, 

For I'm a sage, in thirst come near to 
drink. 

However rude, hence courteous accents 
flow — 

My lady, do mine eyes her beauty see — 

Conjecture safely on her charms con- 
cealed. 

{Addressing St. V.] 

You think that I am slower to admire. 
Though a moth around a candle will be 
slain. 

{Again, to Marie Louise] 

You'll see your loved one's soul in Para- 
dise, 



Louvain 73 

Already now his face shines through the 

clouds. 

[Caressing her armsl 
Your swaying, melting body in its tints, 

ach! 
The language of the night by Beauty 

flashed 
O'er satin skin to ruby in your veins. 

[Another malicious glance towards ST. 

v.] 

While roses gather smiles and waves draw 
breath, 

My shy and tender heart creeps up in 
fear — 

Then soft as rain mists in the lilies' bed — 

You know 'tis there the flames con- 
sume the fire. 

Give me a kiss — that nectar starts it all. 

[He seizes the girl and brutally presses 
his lips to hers] 

St. V. 

Dog! I'll live a moment to — 

[With almost superhuman strength the 
young Belgian tears himself from the 



74 Louvain 

Uhlans, springs upon ObERHAUS and 
throws him violently to the floor. The 
Uhlans as planned, however, rush 
forward — one stabs St. VallieN 
while the other deliberately shoots 
him through the heart. MARIE 
Louise with a cry falls fainting 
across her lover s bodyl 

\_From the garden the Prussian soldiers 
are heard singing 
^^Deutchland uber alles/^~\ 

CURTAIN 



ACT III 

Scene 2 



ACT III 

Ten days later. PLACE — Louvain, Belgium. 
Night. 

Scene 2 : 

At the crossroads outside of the City on Mount Ce- 
sar. In the foreground are the ruins of the Lafere 
villa, smouldering, charred, and desolate. Away in 
the distance the sky is illuminated^ with the flames 
destroying the city. The skeletons of her once 
famous edifices loom in sinister relief and melancholy 
me?nory against the sky. 

Booming of cannon, shrieks of the wounded, and 
cries of the dying are heard, — followed by inter- 
missions of ghostly stillness that are interrupted only 
by the bitter sobs of a woman. 

In the faint-growing phantasmal light, Marie 
Louise is seen in the road bended low and kneeling 
before a wayside shrine. She is attired in black, riv- 
eted there by sorrow, but sanctified in her faith. 

Cardinal, Archbishop of Malines, recognized by 
his stately bearing and his apparel, approaches to 
where Marie Louise is kneeling. 

He pauses before the shrine. 



78 Louvain 

The Cardinal. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen! 

[Crossing himself as he stoops and 
gently touches MARIE LOUISE on the 
shoulder~\ 

My child! 

Marie Louise {looking up into his face with 
an expression of mingled surprise and sor- 
row, changing to one of wonder and rever- 
ence) . 

\' Father! Father! My strength — 

My prayers — I knew — I knew would 
y soon be answered! 

The Cardinal {as Marie Louise moves and 
I kneels at his feet) . 

Bless you, my child, and be comforted in 

Him, 
His gentler judgment and His dearer 
I mercy. 

The world is full of tears, but they are 

blessed 
Drops that water Faith and Hope. 



Louvain 79 

Marie Louise. 

Alas! 
O, can it be, my father, can it be? 

The Cardinal. 

There is reason for each life and every 

death, 
For shadows are the lights and lights the 

shadows. 

Marie Louise. 

I have believed and prayed and loved, 
and yet 

My soul is crucified in agony; 

Torn from me the touch of all my earth- 
ly dreams. 

The Cardinal. 

Earthly dreams, dear girl, must needs be 

short. 
In this prelude to eternity — 

Marie Louise. 

Ah, me! 

The Cardinal. 

There is nothing we may call our own 

but time; 
He is not gone, but merely sent before. 



8o Louvain 

Marie Louise. 

I — I was so happy — Eminence! 
We two, were to each other all in all. 

The Cardinal. 

Such joys though oft self-made are God's 

decrees, 
Given and to be taken as He wills. 
The life that has not known — accepted 

sorrow 
Is untaught. Without its lesson there 
Would be no love. Pain superbly met 
Is half divine. The touch, the words, 

that soothe 
Another's woe, are but the tears of deeper 
Tenderness that drop from one's own eyes. 
This we know — having sorrowed and 

suffered in 
A dark abyss, nothing outside of eternal 
Life can last. This is our Calvary! 

Marie Louise. 

What a joy it is to hear a voice like yours, 
One's sufferings therein are deified. 
Such words passed, give me lighter heart 
and fall 



Louvain 8i 

In saintly silence on my soul. Still — 
still, 

I am so human after all. O, where 

Is justice, vengeance? What are ambi- 
tion, effort. 

Life and prayer — this balance keeping 
'tween wrong 

And right, that fades and falters where 
the lightnings are? 

Rage, despair — is it come to the end of 
all. 

That stars are burnt to debris in the sky, 

And spectres turned in wheels of fire by 

A flaming Empire grim with blood and 
war, 

Our Earth down-trodden by these mur- 
derers? 

The Cardinal. 

Think not of vengeance, child, God is all 

just; 
There is no — no new sorrow. We are 

called upon 
To bear nothing that has not been borne 

before; 
That is a mystery, which is solely God's. 



82 Louvain 

Marie Louise. 

Since Jean has died — his death is ever 

mine, 
In loving nearness and in grieving tears. 
[Booming of artillery and cries heard 
from the city^ 

Oh! these nights terrible at Hell's com- 
mand! 

The clash of steel, the shouts, the groans 
— hear! 

War's furrows — fingers everywhere; 

The fixed gaze of death and dying, 

As opening blossoms of a bloody madness. 

Life — life — life — War's fool! 

Virtue powdered into howitzers. 

O, God — 

The Cardinal. 

Hush — hush! God is nearer you 
Than is my speech — would you forget 
Him? 

Marie Louise. 

Nay — 
Oh! For me tell Him and I pray you to! 
That my heart doth look so outward after 
grief, 



Louvain 83 

Seeming to pull me from the dust I came 
from. 

The Cardinal. 

No one measures life save He who deals 
it. 
Marie Louise. 

War is a scourge — 

The Cardinal. 

Yet a minister, as God 
With divinest Potency seems cruellest 

when 
Most kind. Take courage! 
These are but the suburbs of His ways. 
In this dusky labyrinth of life, 
Drinking our cups of woe and happiness, 
We go from darkness into light — from 

change 
To immortality — from death by death, 
To life undying. 

Marie Louise. 

Long experience 
Is disciplined to grief, 
The Cardinal. 

As we do hope 
And be the less distressed, 



84 Louvain 

Marie Louise. 

Where desolations 
Darken all the vale. Your Eminence, 
I feel changed as by some miracle, 
Though still great sorrow weighs upon 

my soul ; 
This long, long way from pain to pain 
alone! 

The Cardinal. 

There is no such road by which you must 

return. 
There is a sun which setteth not forever, 
And of whose gladness there is no end. 
[With one hand on Marie LouiSE'S 
shoulder, the CARDINAL raises the 
other and makes the sign of the 
Cross'] 
So quickly — shall this chalice pass away. 
[Marie Louise rises and stands beside 
the Cardinal. They gaze intently 
upon the burning city. A luminous 
Cross gradually outlines itself against 
the sky, shines for a moment, and 
slowly fades away from view.] 

CURTAIN 



The Sublime Sacrifice 

By Charles V. H. Roberts 
1 2mo, boards, uncut, paper label - - $1.25 

Humanity will never cease to remember the 
fate of Edith Cavell; before God and man 
this blot will stand vividly as one of the hor- 
rors — one of the sacrifices — of war, the like of 
which is incomprehensible to modern civili- 
zation. It is a chapter to be written in blood 
and the dramatic possibilities are tremendous. 

Mr. Roberts has grasped an opportunity to 
produce a work which is really extrordinary 
in dramatic effect, and his technique has been 
pronounced highly artistic by competent 
critics who were allowed to see the manu- 
script. It compares favorably with the ear- 
lier productions of Stephen Phillips, John 
Masefield, and Wilfred Gibson. 

The Torch Press 



The Pittsburgh Dispatch says: 

"The episode of Edith Cavell is the theme of 'The 
Sublime Sacrifice,' a drama in three acts and a pro- 
logue by Charles V. H. Roberts. Mr. Roberts handles 
this great war tragedy in masterly fashion, adhering to 
the main facts of the story for the most part, though, as 
far as the American public knows, the author draws on 
his imagination for the character of Sir John Steele, 
whom he uses as the fiance of Miss Cavell, and for the 
dramatic scenes he pictures between the two in the Ger- 
man general's tent, and in the death cell. However, 
Mr. Roberts has written a drama that is coTrect in 
technique and artistic in finish." 



The Torch Press, Publishers 



